Lyrics of The Beatles’ “Blackbird” are scrawled across University textiles, apparel design and merchandising senior Ashley Andrews’ sketchbook.
For the entire spring semester, Andrews has been working on her senior showcase and New Orleans Fashion Week collection “Blackbird.” On March 25, her designs walked down the runway in the Top Design Competition, and while she didn’t end with a win, Andrews is taking the experience and looking toward the future.
“I’m not disappointed in the outcome at all,” Andrews said. “I didn’t really do it to win. I kind of just did it for me to prove to myself that I could do it.”
Andrews’ “Blackbird” is made up of primarily black and gold items, including draped dresses, a leather collar and a feather cape. The final item is a strapless, white layered gown.
Inspiration for the 10-piece collection came from Andrews’ upcoming May graduation. She said the main idea was a bird losing its feathers and moving through various stages in life.
“I knew this was going to be my first real collection, so it’s kind of me coming out and growing into a designer, and so, it’s the evolution of my designs,” Andrews said.
The application process for New Orleans Fashion Week’s Top Design Competition required the designers to have less than three years experience and submit a résumé. Andrews also had to submit pictures of three looks, front and back.
The University student applied around New Year’s Eve with about 60 to 70 other applicants and made the cut to present with nine other designers.
She said when she found out she placed in the Top Design Competition, she included the pieces from her senior showcase and expanded on them, so it would be a complete collection.
Textiles, apparel design and merchandising assistant professor Casey Stannard teaches the synthesis course where Andrews has been working on these pieces. She said the class is a collection development course where students do target research on a specific market and design a collection around one influence.
“The [Blackbird] inspiration was really a quite interesting concept with the idea of rebirth and really picking the image of the blackbird but doing it in more a sophisticated manner,” Stannard said.
Additional items had to be worked on outside of the classroom while she balanced full-time student work and two part-time jobs.
Andrews said the collection includes various types of clothing and feathers, about $500 worth. One dress includes 70 ostrich feathers, and another has a feather cape with 275 duck feathers hand sewn by Andrews.
Andrews applied other elements, including an alligator leather collar and gold paint accents.
These heavy, dramatic aspects are something Andrews prides herself on. She said her clothes all have a theatrical aspect and are less ready-to-wear. After graduation, she said she plans to apply those strengths to graduate school to study in the master of fine arts in costume technology and design program at the University.
Stannard said the design skills Andrews has honed during her undergraduate work will help her when she moves on to her graduate program. She said much of the synthesis course studies design theory which is something Andrews can apply to costumes.
Andrews also has worked with the Southern Costume Company in New Orleans this past summer. She helped create Mardi Gras costumes for the Mystic Krewe of Nyx and Krewe of Zulu.
“I kind of fell in love with it there because it’s not necessarily the attention to detail, but the one-of-a-kind pieces and the whole idea of you can make anybody whatever they want,” Andrews said. “They can become anything just by whatever clothes they wear.”
Bringing characters to life is one of Andrews’ passions, and her ultimate goal is to design for television and movies. She said her biggest dream would be receiving an Oscar for costume design.
However, she said she’d also love to continue with her own brand. Andrews references designer Alexander McQueen, saying he’s made clothing that isn’t necessarily ready-to-wear but is show-worthy.
“I want to put on a show. I want people to feel something when they see my clothes,” Andrews said.
You can reach Meg Ryan on Twitter @The_MegRyan.
University apparel design student reflects on fashion week, graduation
By Meg Ryan
March 30, 2015
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